I was therefore obliged to force
him violently back into the cave again, where he rose panting to the
surface. In short, he had lost his presence of mind, and--"
"Nothing of the sort," cried Peterkin indignantly, "I only lost my
wind; and if I had not had presence of mind enough to kick as I did, I
should have bu'st in your arms!"
"Well, well, so be it," resumed Jack with a smile; "but the upshot of
it was, that we had to hold another consultation on the point, and I
really believe that, had it not been for a happy thought of mine, we
should have been consulting there yet."
"I wish we had," again interrupted Peterkin with a sigh.--"I'm sure,
Ralph, if I had thought that you were coming back again, I would
willingly have awaited your return for months rather than have endured
the mental agony which I went through. But proceed."
"The thought was this," continued Jack, "that I should tie Peterkin's
hands and feet with cords, and then lash him firmly to a stout pole
about five feet long, in order to render him quite powerless, and keep
him straight and stiff. You should have seen his face of horror, Ralph,
when I suggested this; but he came to see that it was his only chance,
and told me to set about it as fast as I could; 'For,' said he, 'this
is no jokin', Jack, _I_ can tell you, and the sooner it's done the
better.' I soon procured the cordage and a suitable pole, with which I
returned to the cave, and lashed him as stiff and straight as an
Egyptian mummy; and, to say truth, he was no bad representation of what
an English mummy would be, if there were such things, for he was as
white as a dead man.
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